UNIT 7
Vision
Listening Skills
Each Skillful unit has ten pages and is divided into two main sections: listening Vocabulary preview Read these sentences. In each set of four, match the words in bold with skills and1 speaking skills. their meanings.
1 In an average week, I spend around ten hours watching TV.
Listening
2 I often lie awake at night worrying about things. 3 Blind people often develop a very strong sense of hearing.
4 Learning English is a very complex task, so it will take a long The listening skills section always comes first and starts with a Discussion point time. to lead youa in(adj)tonotthe unit topic. sleeping b (adj) usual or ordinary
c (adj)two has many small parts or details, for so it isyou difficultto to understand There are then listening texts practice your listening skills d (adj) not able to see on. There are activities to practice your global listening skills and your close 5 Seeing the Egyptian pyramids was the best experience of my life. listening skills, as well as opportunities to critically examine the ideas in 6 Coffee is one of my favorite flavors. 7 My sense of sight isvocabulary not very strong. I have wear glasses. the texts. Key academic istopresented on the page so you can see 8 I do not like food with a creamy texture. essential terms to learn. e f g h
LISTENING
Recognizing different types of numbers Listening for transition questions
VOCABULARY
Adding suffixes to change adjectives into nouns
SPEAKING
Asking for repetition and clarification
Discussion point Discuss these questions with a partner. 1 What does the picture show? Does it remind you of any other things in nature?
The picture shows a … . It looks like a … 2 Do you have good vision? Has it changed in the last few years?
I have / don’t have good vision. It has / hasn’t changed over the last few years.
(n) the particular taste that food or drink has (n) the way something feels when you touch or eat it (n) natural physical abilities: to see, hear, smell, taste, or feel (n) something that happens to you / a situation you are involved in
PRONUNCIATION Pronouncing final
consonant /t/ before another consonant
3 Which of your senses do you think is the strongest? Which of your senses is the weakest? Give examples.
Vocabulary skills also give you the chance to develop the ways in which you learn and remember vocabulary from the listening texts.
hearing
sight
smell
taste
touch VISION
UNIT 7
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2 Work with a partner. Which of the sentences are true for you?
Listening 1 Our world, our senses Before you listen 1 Look at the pictures. Which of the animals do you think has the best eyesight? Why? Which do you think has the worst eyesight? Why? Discuss with a partner.
I think … has the best eyesight because … … probably has the worst eyesight, because … 2 Predict if these sentences are true or false. Write T (true) or F (false). 1 The human eye has six parts. 2 Our eye muscles are less active than other muscles in our body. 3 Women blink their eyes more than men. 4 Eagles have much better eyesight than humans. 5 Owls have poor night vision. 6 Bats cannot see.
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About Skillful Listening & Speaking
Welcome to Skillful!
Vision
The speaking section has three main parts: grammar, pronunciation skills, and speaking skills. You can find information on each of these in boxes on the page and these give essential information on these skills. At the end of this section there is a speaking task for you to put the ideas from the texts and the skills from the speaking section into practice.
Study Skills
Speaking
Study SkillS Classroom language Getting started Discuss these questions with a partner. 1 In your culture, do you use formal or informal language when you talk with a teacher? 2 What happens if you use inappropriate language to talk with a teacher? 3 How do you think American students talk to their teachers? How do you think they talk to their friends?
Scenario Read this scenario. Think about Sam’s classroom language. How is it appropriate? How is it inappropriate?
The final page in the unit focuses on study skills which will help you to achieve academic success. Some of these pages come from The Study Skills Handbook by Stella Cottrell, while others are engaging scenarios for you to read and reflect on.
Consider it Read these pairs of sentences. In each pair, what would you say to a teacher and what would you say to a classmate? Write T (teacher) or C (classmate). 1 a Hey, Michael. b Good morning, Dr. Han. 2 a Can I use your pencil? b Could I please borrow a pencil? 3 a Please excuse me for being late. b Sorry I’m late. 4 a Excuse me for interrupting. Could I ask a question? b Wait a minute. I have a question. 5 a See you tomorrow, Mrs. Tanaka. b See you. 6 a I’m afraid I disagree. b That’s not right!
Using Skillful gives you everything you need for academic success.
Over to you Discuss these questions in small groups. 1 Do you think it is important to use appropriate classroom language? Why? 2 Do you think your classroom language is appropriate or inappropriate? Give examples. 3 Compare the language you should use to speak to a teacher and a classmate in these situations:
Good luck!
Sam is a student in a literature class at an American university. It is the third week of class. Sam enters the classroom and greets his teacher, saying, “Hi, Adam.” Then he sits down next to a classmate and says, “How do you do, Mark.” Sam realizes he forgot to bring a pen. He turns to a classmate and says, “I need your pen.” His classmate gives him a strange look. During the lecture, Sam is sure the teacher is wrong. He raises his hand and says, “Sorry, that’s wrong.” Later, Sam disagrees with one his classmates during groupwork, and he says, “Excuse me, but I believe your information might be incorrect.” At the end of class, Sam stands up and tells Mark, “See you tomorrow.” Then he says, “Later, man” to the teacher as he walks out of the room.
a You want help preparing for an exam. b You need to leave class early. c You want the other person to speak more loudly.
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ABOUT SKILLFUL LISTENING & SPEAKING
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